Style Edit: Chanel’s fall/winter 2025-26 eyewear range puts timeless elegance in the frame
Shot and directed by David Sims, Chanel’s fall/winter 2025-26 eyewear campaign stars Mathilda Gvarliani in designs characterised by clean lines and geometric silhouettes
For Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, true elegance transcended the purely decorative aspects of luxury pieces to express the personality of the wearer. Her maison’s fall/winter 2025-26 eyewear campaign embodies this philosophy, presenting a collection of glasses that, far from being add-ons, become the hallmark of each look.
Shot and directed by British fashion photographer David Sims, the campaign comprises a sleek 15-second video and six portraits of Mathilda Gvarliani, the first Georgian model to walk in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show as well as the first Georgian model to appear on the cover of Vogue.
Gvarliani is seen in dark glasses and transparent lenses, in oversized frames and designs characterised by their clean lines and geometric silhouettes, all presented against a minimalist backdrop.
The brand’s formal entry into the eyewear arena in 1999 involved a deliberate curation of accessories that extended Chanel’s narrative of sophistication. Partnering with Milan-based Luxottica Group, the house developed frames bearing its codes, from neutral tones and subtle interplays of the double C logo, to chains inspired by Chanel handbag straps. The eyewear collections have since become vital to the maison’s lifestyle identity, embodying its core principle of functional elegance.
The new fall/winter 2025-26 collection reiterates Chanel’s codes through everything from classic square frames and elongated rectangles to sporty aviator shapes. The campaign’s pared-back setting emphasises the architectural qualities of the glasses, their designs aligning with the maison’s ethos of ensuring that accessories don’t overpower, but rather serve as extensions of the wearer’s character.
Sims’ lens captures Gvarliani at playful moments, at serious moments, in ways that feel intimate, and in ways in which she remains poised. The restrained design language running through the collection makes a clear statement: contemporary elegance is to be found in essential pieces that empower rather than conceal the wearer.
This season, Chanel’s eyewear entices us to see and be seen through frames that celebrate simplicity, precision and a quiet intensity. The range underscores the evolution of eyewear as a key part of the Chanel experience, revealing sophistication in its purest form.